Many structures, such as bridges, buildings and frames, are built using structural metal tubes. In many case the metal tubes need to be connected end to end to achieve a desired configuration. One option is to weld metal tubes that are connected end to end, but that operation is time consuming and difficult to perform in certain construction environments. Accordingly, splice plate assemblies have been used in the past to interconnect metal tubulars in an end to end fashion. One example utilizes nuts welded onto the splice plate, but this arrangement does not maintain the nut in place if the weld connection fails, which is against code in some areas. Arrangements to better capture the nuts in position on the splice plate have been used, but existing splice plate assemblies also have problems, including difficulties in the manufacture, assembly and/or installation of the splice plate components.
Improvements in the manufacturability, ease of in-field installation and/or performance are still sought.